Not so sure about the on the field part. Humility is hard to sell when you are a massive trash talker like Witten supposedly is.
I still consider the vocal part of the game part of the craft. When I played, you got guys who cussed you out, to guys that complimented your shoes and all approaches in between. That's all part of the psychological game that's played, especially at receiver/db when you line up on a guy and you have to neutralize him. Trash talking happens at all levels from pop to pro. For the young ones you try and instill more of a sportsmanship mentality, but as a pro you need to use every competitive edge you can just short of dirty or cheap shots, on the field.
JWitt has earned like two or three man of the year awards, that's a heavy commitment to a cause other than yourself. He also uses the media to his advantage heaping praise on his team mates and trying not to get into precarious scenarios.
Also comparatively at this point in his career JWitt had put in time at Tennessee learning and came into a system under Parcells who is know to knock you down a peg. To me that shows how far ahead JWitt was as a young player, mentally he was tougher than the regular rookie.
Not saying Rico is wrong for what he says, but I would be happy if he achieves a modicum of play recognition along with improved blocking. His catching and size will be there but for year one, Dan Campbell would be a homerun for him.